Role overview

Kong is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to serve as a trusted technical advisor for enterprise customers adopting API management and AI connectivity solutions. You will work at the intersection of API infrastructure and artificial intelligence, helping innovative organizations architect secure and scalable ecosystems while embracing agentic AI technologies.

Key responsibilities

Partner with field sales to demonstrate the value of Kong’s API and AI connectivity platform to prospective customers.
Conduct discovery conversations to understand customer technical requirements and map them to Kong solutions across the entire evaluation lifecycle.
Lead proof-of-concept initiatives by owning technical validation, ensuring stakeholder alignment, and driving customer satisfaction across your assigned accounts.
Deliver technical demonstrations showcasing Kong’s API governance and agentic connectivity capabilities, including Model Context Protocol governance, semantic caching, prompt guardrails, and shadow AI detection.
Facilitate Technical Feasibility Workshops to validate Kong’s compatibility with modern and AI-focused architectures.
Own the technical strategy for complex enterprise deals involving multiple stakeholders from initial qualification through contract closure.
Mentor junior solutions engineers on technical competencies, discovery methodologies, and deal strategy while collaborating with product, engineering, and support teams to advocate for customer needs.
Build thought leadership by authoring technical content, hosting webinars, and speaking at industry conferences including AWS re:Invent, Google Next, and API & AI summits.
Synthesize customer feedback and market trends to inform product direction and strategy.

Requirements

Seven or more years of experience in software engineering or solutions engineering roles at SaaS, open source, or enterprise software organizations.
Demonstrated success owning and closing complex, enterprise-level deals involving multiple technical and executive stakeholders.
Experience mentoring or coaching other solutions engineers or technical team members.
Hands-on proficiency with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-native platforms.
Practical experience with REST and GraphQL APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and API security patterns including OAuth2, OIDC, and mTLS.
Direct hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex, or equivalent.
Working knowledge of AI and large language model architectures, including model routing, rate limiting, semantic caching, and prompt governance.
Familiarity with Model Context Protocol and agentic AI design patterns.
Solid grasp of cloud computing trends and open source business models.
Strong communication and listening skills with the ability to lead confident discussions with engineers, architects, and executives.

What makes this role worth considering

You will work at a pivotal moment where API management and AI connectivity are converging, positioning you to influence how enterprise organizations navigate this transformation. This role offers significant visibility and impact, with opportunities to shape product direction, mentor emerging talent, and establish thought leadership through speaking engagements at major industry conferences and events.